The wrestling begins at 4:30 p.m. today with opening-round and quarterfinal matches, and resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. with the semifinal matches. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to the state wrestling tournament Feb. 14-16 at the Assembly Hall in Champaign.

The Boilers enter the sectional with four regional champions — Walters at 126, Mark Breedlove at 132, Omar Delgado at 145 and Jack Breedlove at 170. With the regional title comes an opening-round bye into the quarterfinals.

“For starters, they get to wrestle the number two or three kid from another regional,” said Kewanee coach Charley Eads. “Just getting to watch the first match to see what their opponent likes to do is a big advantage. It’s nice to see four of them get that advantage.”

The unofficial matchups tonight at Stanford Olympia — according to the Illinois Matmen website — have Walters (28-9) vs. the Dustin Huss (14-7) of Illini West and David Trewyn of St. Joseph-Ogden winner in the quarterfinals at 126; Mark Breedlove (36-2) vs. the Iley Markam (19-11) of Olympia and Dakota Huss (22-6) winner in the quarterfinals at 132; Delgado (24-8) vs. the Clayton Thurman (24-21) of Beardstown and Gabe McKinley (29-11) of El Paso winner in the quarterfinals at 145; and Jack Breedlove (24-11) vs. the Tyler Arnold (20-9) of Macomb and Brandon Bodine (24-13) of LeRoy winner in the quarterfinals at 170.

Eads tabs Mark Breedlove, Kewanee’s career leader in wins, as the favorite at 132 and believes the senior will close his stellar high school career with his first trip to state.

“I really expect Mark to win the sectional,” said Eads.

He’s the top-rated 132-pounder at Stanford Olympia, checking in sixth in the latest Illinois Matmen rankings.

Eads said Walters has a tough draw at 126 with Tyler Walsh (26-1) of LeRoy looming in the semifinals and undefeated Jack Lucie (36-0) of West Hancock on the other side of the bracket.

“I think Bo is where he wants to be in terms of getting to the finals,” said Eads.

Eads said Delgado’s unorthodox style could serve him well at 145. Top threats to the KHS junior are Evan Bahler (31-5) of Prairie Central and D.J. Morgan (24-10) of LeRoy.

Page 2 of 2 - “If he comes out with his A game and wrestles his tail off, who knows what could happen with him,” said Eads of Delgado.

Freshman Jack Breedlove might face the toughest bracket in the entire sectional, with four wrestlers among the top 10 in the state, led by top-rated Zach Abney (38-2) of Pittsfield.

Pillen earns second straight sectional berth

Wethersfield sophomore Carter Pillen is making his second straight sectional trip and opens with John Donovan (28-9) of Deer Creek-Mackinaw in the first round tonight at Stanford Olympia.

Pillen is coming off a second-place finish at 120 pounds at the Eureka Regional.

“I 100 percent believe that if he wrestles to his ability, he will make it out,” said Pillen’s coach, Tate Sturtevant.

Pillen is 21-6 on the season and 7-4 since moving up to 120 pounds after Christmas.

Scheduling is a challenge for Pillen, who represents Wethersfield as the school’s lone wrestler. He’s competed in tournaments at Orion and Litchfield, along with fresh-soph and varsity tournaments at Erie.

“I’ve been very pleased with his performance this year,” said Sturtevant. “He’s getting to the next level.”

Outside of tournaments, Pillen picked up matches piggy-backing of Orion High School’s schedule. If the Chargers host a meet and one of the opposing schools has wrestler willing to step on the mat with him, then it’s go time for Pillen.

“It’s been nice working with Orion,” said Sturtevant. “Their coaches, team and parents have all been real supportive of him.”